Road trip into Colorado: a pause for art and wine in Palisade, Co

Wine tasting and art stroll in Palisade

We are on the road, driving back into Colorado from Moab. Our en route stop is in Palisade, a community focus on vineyards and fruit trees. We started with wine tasting to provision for Thanksgiving with the family.  Pottering around the historic downtown and enjoying the barn quilt and sculpture trail.

Rather good combination - wine and art.

The Windows Section: Turret Arch

Turret Arch, named for the rock tower to the left. The towering spire is a giant sandstone fin.

The castle like free standing Turret Arch in the Windows area of Arches National Park, an easy walk from the North and South Windows. I particularly love the porthole window next to the main arch.

Using people in our photos to remember the scale of these windows!

Arches as windows: all about the angles

 

North and South Window from this angle look like a single structure, the pair of glasses on the horizon from many viewpoints in Arches. They are in fact two separate and enormous windows.

Arches are windows when they have glorious views across the landscape and particularly at The Windows Section in Arches National Park.

The easy, short trail up to North Window.

The vast scale of North Window.

The approach to South Window.

Windows and endless views

The development of an arch

 We have seen so many arches! Here is a snapshot of how we have experienced them.

A 'recent' arch forming at the base of a sheer cliff face.

A small opening peeping through this sandstone monolith

The arch starts to erode, opening up more and interesting shapes emerge.

Eventually a monumental arch has been formed and the next phase will be the collapsing of the arch.
I an fascinated by this arch which is called Broken Arch - can you also seeing the two dinosaurs touching noses!

And perhaps this would have been an arch! Sheer walls of the canyon along the Park Avenue Trail

We are not the first at Delicate Arch

 

A geologist pointed out these Jurassic era dinosaur footprints along the trail!

American Indians have been here for thousands of years. Petroglyph panel on the trail to Delicate Arch

The weathered log cabin 'Wolfe Ranch' settled in the late 1800's. A peep into the past when explorers came looking for minerals and ranchers found grasses for cattle and sheep

The many attitudes of Delicate Arch

 

Fred clambering up the slippery sandstone to get an unusual angle to Delicate Arch.

The classic angle.

Delicate Arch from a window in the rock along the trail, another climbing moment from Fred and patiently waiting for a people free moment.

The Kersten's at Delicate Arch

A magical moment, taking in the magnificence of Delicate Arch.

In planning our stay in Moab, I figured we would use the 4 night stay to to do a whole lot of different outings. Once we spent our first day in Arches, it was not even a debate, we would spend all our time in this one park. We have travelled extensively all over the world and into many natural wonders and hands down Arches has completely captured our souls. 

Our return to Delicate Arch was along a fabulous trail, rated as difficult because of the 5 kms with a steep 150m elevation gain and the exposure to heights. 

We relished being on the trail. 

There is no sign of the Arch until you round the exposed cliff path and then there it is. 

Delicate Arch floats high above the valley on the brink of a canyon, with the dramatic snow-capped Le Sal Mountains as a backdrop. 

Fred at the Arch in what we called the TikTok generation pose.
It's what most of the youngsters do, whizz down, take a photo and leave.

Bird of Arches National Park: Common Raven

The sound of Arches is the croaking of these huge ravens

From crows in Seattle to ravens in Arches, the family Corvidae certainly making their presence felt on our trip.

Mighty geology of Arches National Park: Sandstone is the scenery maker.

Arches is dominated by exposed bedrock, featuring cliffs, spires, canyon walls, hoodoos, rock domes, plus the famous windows and arches, all made of bare rock. These erosional phenomena are all carved from the sedimentary rock layers with sandstone being the major rock type. Its beautiful shades of reds to oranges, interspersed with cappuccino white, give the park its special palette.

I am fascinated that sandstone is strong enough to form cliffs and domes and yet able to support spans to create magnificent arches like Landscape Arch, the longest arch in North America - almost 100 meters! At its narrow point it is just under 2 meters in diameter. 

A huge chunk fell off the arch in the 1990's and it feels like it is hanging on by a thread. 

The spectacular Landscape Arch

Each angle is quite outstanding.

The approach from the Devil Garden Trailhead is quite surreal.

The walk is an easy 3km, but the temperature was barely 1 degree and with the windchill we were cold. 
This first view is a just a taste of how incredible the views are along the approach.

Arches National Park: Mule Deer

Our first sightings of Mule Deer which is indigenous to western North America. In the northern section of Arches National Park we were coming back from Landscape Arch and found these deer in the grasslands near Tunnel Arch.

Mule Deer buck on the trail around Tunnel Arch.
These deer have white rump patch and a small white tail with a black tip. 

Keeping a keen lookout to see what the buck was up to. The gentle looking does with their 'mule-like' ears

Arches National Park: Double Arch

With more than 2000 arches this park is a geological marvel. National Parks in America are so well designed and here in Arches each destination is a mindfully curated experience. Being here in winter is a joy too as the park is not busy at all. 

Our visit to the Windows Section of the park was a revelation starting with the spectacular Double Arch. There is no hint of what you are going to see at the start of the short hard-packed trail and then the blue sky starts to peep out as does these two stone arches.

Approaching Double Arch, its scale is spectacular.

Double Arch is a pothole arch, they were formed from a small depression on the top of the rock mass merging with an alcove on the rock face. I do not always understand these geological forces but they are they quite awe inspiring.

Fred sitting high up in Double Arch. 
a rather precarious adventure with the slippery rock and the fall off behind him!

The Double Arch in all its grandness.

The Windows Section of Arches National Park

 

Arches National Park, Utah: and our first viewing of the iconic Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch from the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint, a short sharp trail to view the Arch from across a ravine.

Our first day exploring the Arches National Park on a clear, big blue-sky day. 

Our road trip to Moab, which lies just south of the park, brings us to this time and this place-both Fred and I have always spoken about coming back to Utah and taking in the magnificence of Arches. Fred already has hundreds of photos but it's perfect to start with Delicate Arch. It is synonymous with Utah, from stamps to vehicle license plates and everything else imaginable. 

And it is completely magnificent. 

Delicate Arch in context from the viewpoint.

A quiet meditative moment, completely at peace and marvelling at the beauty of Delicate Arch.
The special aura of time, silence and scale.

PS: Thank you Adrienne for this Tennyson quote, it resonates on all levels

On the road: good morning Utah

 

The beauty of Utah

Our road trip from Denver to Moab in Utah is underway. 

Some adjustment needed to winter road tripping, it's very cold. We would normally be out and about very early, walking shoes on and finding a trail, but minus 5 is just too harsh. So a more relaxed start is needed and warm coffee shops are a pleasure.